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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26519722">Coffee from Seaweed</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/Estirose'>Estirose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Singing Off Beat [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:14:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>468</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26519722</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/Estirose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yen'ei wishes that she and Lian could have been on this show together. They've been friends for a long time, after all. It could be more, but Yen'ei isn't sure about that.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Singing Off Beat [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1928344</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Coffee from Seaweed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Third story featuring the characters from "Tinkering with Flowers" and "Wiped Out of Tears"! I guess I have to make a series now.</p><p>As before, I've tried to do as well as I can to not screw up either (mainland) Chinese culture or names, but if I have, please let me know.</p><p>(Edited Yenay to Yen'ei and corrected some wording about same sex relationships/marriages in China.)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been an exhausting day, Gao Yen'ei mused as she flipped through the photos on her cell phone. And a long one, no matter how good it was to see former fellow trainees on ExNona's variety show.</p><p>But the former trainee she wanted to see the most on this trip - the ExNona member and her close friend Tian Lian - hadn't been there. Yen'ei hadn't even had a chance to see her in person, since Lian had come down with something likely infectious. Lian had joked weakly on the phone that while she didn't mind sharing things with Yen'ei, this was definitely not something that she wanted to share with her longtime friend.</p><p>Even though Yen'ei had lots and lots of fun on the show itself - that whole thing with the FAMILY performance had been a scream and she'd loved catching up with Li Bo and Long Xiangling - it still hadn't been the same. </p><p>Yen'ei didn't blame Lian, though. Yen'ei had tons of appearances and commercials booked in the near future. Even though she hadn't made the top twenty, never mind the final nine like Lian had, she was popular. Getting sick like Lian had would definitely cost her money and she couldn't afford that right now.</p><p>Besides, Cui Meiying had quite accidentally given Yen'ei something to think about. The recording of the show had given all of them brief moments to catch up with each other in person, and Meiying had taken the opportunity to show her a work in progress, the song that she'd said she'd write for Yen'ei and Lian. The music wasn't there, not yet, but the lyrics were. As with all of Meiying's lyrics, they were beautiful.</p><p>And, much to Yen'ei's surprise, even a little romantic. Yen'ei had been too afraid to ask if Meiying had seen something in Yen'ei and Lian's relationship that Yen'ei herself didn't, or if Yen'ei herself was reading something into the lyrics that wasn't there. Not that she wouldn't mind spending her whole life with Lian and their bandmates, Hao Rong and Ke Yin, but she'd never thought of their relationship that way, at least not consciously.</p><p>There was so much to think about, she realized, and maybe she was too tired to be pondering this. Some of the trainees had considered her simple and honest, and maybe this would be something she would never understand. Besides, she didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to mess up her relationship with Lian, or their careers. Better to just let it go, thank Meiying for her music, and move on. </p><p>Yeah, Yen'ei thought, that was the best for all. Sing, make as many as she could happy, make her family happy, settle down someday. She turned off her phone, smiled, and got ready to go to bed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yeah, Yen'ei is kind of dense, to put it politely, and love would have to walk up and physically hit her on the head for her to notice.</p><p>She's also conscious of the fact that even if she comes to feel romantic love towards Lian, China (where this is set) is still culturally somewhat conservative (same-sex relationships are okay but still kind of frowned upon, and same-sex marriage is not recognized (though not illegal)), plus it's very normal for people in musical groups/idols to not be allowed to be in romantic relationships or even disclose their sexual orientations in that part of Asia.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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